MLB Player News

Urshela was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Friday due to side effects from vaccination.

The 29-year-old was a late scratch for Friday's lineup due to the side effects, and the Yankees decided to free up some roster space by utilizing the COVID-19 IL. The specialized IL has no minimum stay, so Urshela can be activated once he feels well enough to retake the field.. Mike Ford was recalled in a corresponding move to fill out the roster.

Urshela was scratched from Friday's lineup against the Rays for undisclosed reasons, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

The 29-year-old was poised to start in his usual spot at the hot corner, but he was scratched less than an hour before first pitch. It's unclear if Urshela is dealing with an injury or if he'll be available off the bench. DJ LeMahieu will shift over the third base while Tyler Wade enters the lineup at the keystone for New York.

Moncada was back in the lineup Thursday and went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in a 6-0 victory over Kansas City.

Moncada returned to the lineup after Wednesday's rest day and slotted in at cleanup for the White Sox in their home opener. It's been a sluggish start for Moncada, who entered Thursday's game with a .182 batting average and 12 strikeouts over 22 at-bats. The one-day breather may have helped, as he did not strike out for the first time in seven games. Moncada has been manager Tony La Russa's early choice to fill in as the cleanup hitter, replacing Eloy Jimenez (pectoral).

Devers went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, a walk and two runs scored Thursday against the Orioles.

Devers had only two hits in his first 19 at-bats entering the game, but he wasted no time slugging his first extra-base hit of the season when he took Matt Harvey deep in the opening frame. He also collected a single to lead off the sixth inning and came around to score and knot the game at three. Though his early struggles were hardly worth panicking over, it was nevertheless encouraging to see Devers get on track at the dish.

Donaldson (hamstring) could take at-bats in simulated games over the weekend, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Donaldson has continued to run on a treadmill and take batting practice in recent days, and manager Rocco Baldelli has been pleased with the 35-year-old's progress. If he continues to progress smoothly, Donaldson could head to the alternate training site over the weekend to take another step in his recovery. A timetable for Donaldson's return to game action hasn't yet been established, but he appears to be trending in the right direction.

Chapman went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's win over the Dodgers.

Chapman got to Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer with a 426-foot solo shot to center field in the seventh inning and helped send the game into extra innings when he singled and scored in the ninth. It was easily the best game of the year for the star third baseman, who entered the contest batting a paltry .105 with no extra-base hits.

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Wednesday's win over the Royals.

Ramirez was a synonym of offense for the Indians during Wednesday's win, as he plated the team's four runs after going deep twice -- he launched a pair of two-run shots, his first two of the campaign, in the sixth and eighth innings. Ramirez has hit safely in each of his first five appearances this season and has recorded two multi-hit games to date.

Urshela is averaging 77.6 miles per hour on his throws from third base, a drop of nearly five mph from his 2020 average, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

The loss of velocity could be attributed to Urshela still attempting to regain full strength in his throwing shoulder after he required surgery in December to remove a bone spur. Urshela, who is off to a 4-for-18 start to the season, has noticed a similar decline in his Statcast metrics at the plate, with his average exit velocity, max exit velocity and hard-hit percentage all down from 2020. The small sample of data thus far makes it difficult to draw any major conclusions for Urshela's rest-of-season outlook, but the early returns aren't overly encouraging.

Moncada isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Mariners.

Moncada went 4-for-22 with a double, three runs and 12 strikeouts while starting the first six games of the season. Jake Lamb will start at third base Wednesday, batting second.

Madrigal went 1-for-3 with a single, a stolen base and a run scored in Tuesday's 10-4 win over the Mariners.

Madrigal reached base in the eighth after getting hit in the shoulder and promptly took second for his first steal of the young season. The former 2018 first-round pick only had two steals in 29 games last year, but hopefully this could be a sign that he'll be more active when on base to make up for his lack of run production so far at the plate.